Re: [boost] [utility/swap] Okay to add array support to Boost.Swap(sandbox/swap)?

From: Niels Dekker - mail address until 2008-12-31 (nd_mail_address_valid_until_2008-12-31_at_[hidden])
Date: 2008-06-24 12:20:45

David Abrahams wrote:
> I haven't formed an opinion yet, but the fact remains that swapping a
> boost::array would have very different efficiency characteristics from
> swapping the analogous std::vector, so we ought to think it through
> carefully.

Howard Hinnant wrote:
> If it helps, here is a test program using gcc 4.0.1:
...
> template <class T, std::size_t N>
> void
> swap1(std::tr1::array<T, N>& a, std::tr1::array<T, N>& b)
> {
>     std::tr1::array<T, N> temp(a);
>     a = b;
>     b = temp;
> }
>
> template <class T, std::size_t N>
> void
> swap2(std::tr1::array<T, N>& a, std::tr1::array<T, N>& b)
> {
>     std::swap_ranges(a.begin(), a.end(), b.begin());
> }
...
> On my machine:
>
> $ g++ -O3 test.cpp
> $ ./a.out
> swap1 time is 0.172796 seconds
> swap2 time is 1.3e-05 seconds

Cool! Thanks, Howard. The swap member function of boost::array also 
calls std::swap_ranges, like your swap2:

  // swap (note: linear complexity)
  void swap (array<T,N>& y) {
      std::swap_ranges(begin(),end(),y.begin());
  }

Unfortunately std::swap_ranges doesn't always pick the custom swap 
function of T. At least, the STL implementation that comes with MSVC 
2008 has swap_ranges calling std::iter_swap, which calls std::swap, 
without doing argument-dependent lookup.  :-(  Luckily, once boost::swap 
would be in the trunk, boost::array::swap could be implemented simply by 
swapping its one and only data member, elems (a built-in array of T):

  void swap (array<T,N>& y) {
      // Assuming that boost::swap supports built-in arrays:
      boost::swap(this->elems, y.elems);
  }

Having boost::array::swap call boost::swap would have two advantages: it 
would support a boost::array containing built-in arrays as elements 
(boost::array<T[M],N>), and it would use ADL to pick the custom swap 
function of T.

What do you think?

Kind regards, Niels